1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to wire connectors, and in particular, to a snap-on insulation-displacement connector with perpendicular wire guides to allow perpendicular connection of two cable.
2. Description of Related Art
Wire connectors are devices that can connect one wire to another wire. These wire connectors are also referred to as wire interconnects. Sometimes the wire connector is designed to connect a grouping of wires to another grouping of wires, e.g., such as the wires found in a ribbon cable. A ribbon cable (also known as multi-wire planar cable) is a cable that includes a plurality of conducting wires running parallel to each other on the same flat plane. Thus, the cable appears wide and flat as contrasted to bundled cables that appear round. Its name comes from the resemblance of the cable to a piece of ribbon (which is likewise wide and flat).
Each wire includes a conductive core that is formed from an elongated strand of drawn cylindrical metal (or metallic material) or a grouping of the strands. The strands are covered with various insulating materials, such as plastic or rubber-like polymers that provide mechanical strength, prevent corrosion, prevent electrical shorts, and provide thermal insulation. The strands may also be wrapped concentrically and further protected with substances like paraffin, preservative compounds, bitumen, lead sheathing, steel taping, or the like. These protected wires may be glued or thermally fused together to form a ribbon cable.
One way of connecting two wires together is to “splice” them together. For splicing two wires together, the protective layers of both wires must be removed and the metallic strands of the two wires must be mechanically and electrically connected together. A wire stripper can be used to remove the protective covering. After the protective layers are removed, the strands can be fused together using heat, can be soldered together using a soldering iron and solder, or otherwise can be mechanically connected together (e.g., using screw terminals).
Another way of connecting two wires together is to use metal pins capable of piercing the protective layers of the wires forming the electrical connection. These types of connectors are commonly referred to as insulation-displacement connectors and may include one or more pins designed to pierce through the protective layer of one wire, touching the conductive core therein, to provide a conductive path to the conductive core of another wire.
Insulation-displacement connectors can include a row of pins with a wire guide ensuring that the wires are properly positioned. The wire may be secured by crimping. A crimper, and/or other type of securing device can push the pins through one or more wires while permanently (or temporarily) securing the wires. Some insulation-displacement devices have a row of male connector pins that can be inserted into a corresponding grouping of female connector pins to form the cable connection. Other insulation-displacement connectors directly connect the cables together to form the wire interconnect.